Social correlates of reminiscence in late life

Abstract

The focus of the current study was to determine if there was an association between features of the social environment and both oral and silent reminiscence frequency. Fifty community-dwelling older adults (aged 58-84; 60% female) participated in the study, which utilized a questionnaire. Current opportunities to reminisce were significantly associated with both oral and silent reminiscence frequency; early life experience with reminiscing was significantly associated with total (oral plus silent) reminiscence frequency (p<.05, one-tailed). Perceived enjoyment, appropriateness, and usefulness of reminiscing were also measured. Silent reminiscence frequency was significantly higher than oral reminiscence frequency for the total sample (p<.001). Gender differences were also significant for oral reminiscence frequency (p<.02), combined reminiscence frequency (p<.05) and usefulness (p<.04) with males scoring higher than females in each case. Results suggest that researchers and practitioners should take into account features of social interaction as well as demographic characteristics before initiating reminiscence research and therapy.